That was the time it took for Savon Huggins to give the Rutgers fanbase a collective heart attack.

Showing the same kind of deception that allowed him to rush for nearly 1,900 yards and 35 touchdowns last fall, Huggins put on a North Carolina hat to reveal his collegiate decision.

Then, in the time it takes to read this sentence, Huggins traded the Carolina blue for a Scarlet Knights hat.

“”I just told Coach (Greg) Schiano last night I’m going to keep chopping and now I’m going to be a Scarlet Knight,” the smiling Huggins said, stunning a packed audience inside the St. Peter’s Prep library on Friday evening.

“”I told Coach (Greg) Schiano, ‘Relax, relax. I’m just doing this,’‚” said Huggins, admitting he made the decision Wednesday and waited until Friday to reveal his anticipated decision. “”Everybody had that dead stare in their face. But I just had to hold (the North Carolina hat) for a little while and then take the cap off.”

And with that, Huggins put an end to months of speculation, committing to a Rutgers’ 2011 recruiting class that’s shaping up to be the best in program history.

Two hours before Huggins committed, Max Issaka also joined the Rutgers class, announcing his intentions to play for the Scarlet Knights from his Port Reading living room.

Like Huggins, the 6-3, 210-pound hybrid defensive end from Woodbridge chose a Rutgers cap over North Carolina.

“”The main thing is being around my family,” said Issaka, who originally offered a non-binding pledge to Pitt before re-opening his recruitment in the aftermath of the Panthers’ coaching shakeup. “”I decided at first with Pitt to go a little further away from home but still be close enough where I could drive back. But with that (commitment) it didn’t turn out well. So I decided to take into consideration how close Rutgers is to my house.”

Huggins, a Jackson Township native, held more than 70 scholarship offers before dwindling his choices down to Rutgers, North Carolina, Notre Dame and national-champion Auburn in recent weeks.

In the end, Huggins opted to become New Jersey’s first top-rated recruit to commit to Rutgers in the Schiano era.

“”Probably the toughest decision for him and the biggest challenge was staying home,” said St. Peter’s Prep coach Rich Hansen. “”It would’ve been easy to go someplace else. It was a leap of faith and that’s the thing I keep telling them. I think there’s a shared investment in him, and I think Savon has as much invested in Rutgers.”

The 6-0, 190-pound Huggins, the first 5-star prospect in Rutgers’ 23-player recruiting class that won’t become official until National Signing Day next Wednesday, is expected to compete for the starting running back immediately once he arrives this summer.

Schiano, whose other choices will include Jordan Thomas, Joe Martinek and De’Antwan Williams (a trio of backs who combined to rush for just 804 yards last fall), has made no secret of his desire to improve a rushing attack that ranked last in the Big East in 2010.

And Huggins admitted Schiano’s recent change in philosophy with the hiring of former Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who runs a Pro-style attack, played a big part in the decision.

“”I actually want to go there and practice right now if I could,” Huggins said. “”I’m part of the family now.”

That family includes Rutgers wideout Mohamed Sanu and quarterback Chas Dodd, both of whom drove up to Jersey City to congratulate Huggins on his commitment.

“”I’ve been talking to Rutgers for the longest,” Huggins said. “”I developed a relationship with them a while ago. Even when they lost (going 4-8 this past season) I was still there for them. I felt at home here. I know they wanted me bad, and I wanted them bad because I wanted to be a part of their family.”